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Is the Nothing Ear (a) worth the upgrade from the Apple AirPods Pro 3?

You haveApple AirPods Pro 3$23084
-6.0HearWiki points
You're eyeingNothing Ear (a)$8078

Verdict

Downgrade

The Nothing Ear (a) actually scores 6.0 points below the Apple AirPods Pro 3, so on aggregate review consensus this is a step backwards. The gains are concentrated in value (7.5 to 8.5) and battery (8.0 to 8.5). You do give up ground on noise cancelling (9.5 to 7.5) and sound (8.5 to 8.0). On paper: battery life 8 h to 9.5 h, codecs SBC, AAC to SBC, AAC, LDAC and weight 10.1 g to 4.8 g. Worth checking: battery life (anc on) goes 8 h to 5.5 h and wireless charging goes Yes to No. One caution: this steps down a line tier (AirPods Pro 3 to Ear (a)), and base models usually trade away tier features - check the codec and ANC rows above before trusting the score gap alone. It is at least $152 cheaper, so the lower score comes with a saving. Only worth it if a specific feature above matters more to you than overall quality does.

−$150
Price difference
-6.0
Score change
-
Cost per point

What actually changes

Sub-scores both products have, on the same 0-10 scale. Bars extend right for a gain, left for a loss.

  • Sound8.58.0
  • Noise cancelling9.57.5
  • Battery8.08.5
  • Calls8.58.0
  • Value7.58.5

Spec differences

Only where the two genuinely differ - everything they share is omitted.

Spec differences between the Apple AirPods Pro 3 and the Nothing Ear (a)
SpecAirPods Pro 3Ear (a)Direction
Battery life8 h9.5 h
CodecsSBC, AACSBC, AAC, LDAC
Weight10.1 g4.8 g
Water resistanceIP57IP54
Battery life (ANC on)8 h5.5 h
Battery incl. case24 h42.5 h
Drivers per side12
Wireless chargingYesNo
Wear detectionYesNo
ANC typeadaptivehybrid
Quick charge5 minutes in case = about 1 hour listening time10 min = 10 h (ANC off)
Frequency response20 Hz - 20,000 Hz20Hz-20kHz
Full side-by-side comparisonWhat beats the Ear (a)?Check another pair

About this verdict

Direction matters here: this page answers "AirPods Pro 3 to Ear (a)". The other direction is a separate question with a different answer. Scores blend published review verdicts across true wireless and shift as new reviews land, so a marginal call today may not be one next quarter.